Looking to the future - leading the way

Our qualification develops work-ready, professional accountants who thrive in this world of constant change, technological advances and growing globalisation.

The pace of global change continues to increase. For businesses, this means the need for high-quality, professional accountants has never been greater. At ACCA, we’re constantly scanning the horizon to make sure we continue to lead the way.

Recently, we called on our unrivalled global network - over 200,000 members in more than 180 countries - over a two-year period to help us look to the future of accountancy. This ground-breaking research revealed four drivers of change:

We also wanted to know what would be expected of the finance professionals of the future. After conducting over 300 workshops with ACCA members, the answers were clear. For accountants to thrive and add value in tomorrow’s world - for them to lead the way - they’ll need a new blend of competencies:

These competencies form our seven professional quotients model. It’s been specifically designed to draw out these essential technical, ethical and interpersonal skills every accountant of the future will need.

This model forms the basis of the ACCA Qualification, which also includes a Strategic Professional level, an innovative case study and a Professional Skills module.

A Strategic Professional level which includes an innovative real-world scenario case study exam that thoroughly tests students’ technical, ethical and professional skills.

A market-leading Ethics and Professional Skills module which increases our students’ employability by exposing them to realistic business situations that develop the full spectrum of advanced ethical and professional skills.

Computer-based exams for Applied Skills exams that use realistic workplace technology, like spreadsheets and word processing.

Our qualification develops the skills needed for the future whilst still retaining the high standards of rigour and robustness that our members - and employers - demand. The qualification’s continued evolution and relevance has ensured that ACCA delivers the forward-looking, strategic thinking financial professionals tomorrow’s world will need.